With sweat pouring from their brows, MEPs have managed to push through the legislation that bans mobile phone roaming charges for those travelling within the EU's 28 member countries, but this will not become law until June 15, 2017 so from that date onwards, consumers won't pay extra to make calls, send texts or use the internet in any of the EU member states.
The first step towards mobile freedom has been taken with new maximum charges being introduced on April 30th, 2016 for calls, texts and data while travelling within the EU before roaming charges are scrapped completely in June 2017.
Holidaymakers and business travellers will be able to make phone calls, send text messages and access the web at their home rates from this time next year but until then will be ripped-off as per normal, albeit at capped rates.
Although roaming charges are being cut within the EU, charges outside the zone remain the same with the cost depending on destination.
The former vice-president of the European Commission, Viviane Reding commented, “After ten years of tireless fight, roaming is over. A victory for consumers and a stepping stone towards a truly European digital single market.”
The news was welcomed by roaming charge campaigners with many remaining wary that phone companies inevitably will screw around with the legal details and data limits to benefit themselves rather than their customers, as is normal in this industry.
Monique Goyens, the Director General of the European Consumer Organisation agreed, adding, “Another cost cut for mobile use abroad by April 2017 is good news, but is still only a half-baked solution.
“Allowing companies to limit roaming rights for frequent travellers, for example, is certainly not the promised end of roaming in Europe. A real zero-roaming Europe hinges on a major telecom market reform, which is a mammoth task to achieve in just 13 months.”
The vote followed more than two years of negotiations punctuated with U-turns as the European parliament fought vested national interests.
The European Commission says the amendments to the telecoms market will see an end to “huge telephone bills ruining your holiday budget” but until the law starts, telecoms operators still can charge up to 19 cents a minute for calls, five cents for incoming calls, six cents per text message, and 20 cents per megabyte of data downloaded, all on top of the normal tariff.
The abolition of roaming charges is a decision made by the European Union so should the UK electroate vote to leave the EU in the forthcoming Referendum, UK networks could decide to scrap plans to make roaming free and continue their policy of relentless overcharging.
If roaming is free in Europe, the continent turns into a single market for phone networks. If consumers can buy a SIM in any EU country, and use it in any other EU country without an added cost, it makes sense that they might want to look for the best SIM deals beyond their country.
All of a sudden, all of the countries in the EU will be competing on price, or will they? as the EU currently also is drawing up plans for a Fair Usage Policy which caps the 'unlimited data' that providers offer at a level that only they consider 'fair'.
The EU could apply this policy to Europe to make sure there is not a price war, in which case customers will face a cap on minutes, texts and data.That cap hasn’t been decided yet. If it’s low, then customers won’t be able look abroad for a cheap tariff abroad, because usage will be too heavily capped in their county of orign, but if the cap is set at a high level, customers can shop around, meaning competition for Europe’s phone networks.
Confused yet? You're meant to be - while operators continue their thievery.
